You Inspired Me
by Sunnyflight170
Summary: Brenda liked her life the way it was. She had a good family and awesome friends, and was doing great in school. She was perfectly happy. Until she saw a certain T.V. host while at a friends house.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm going to apologize in advance if any of this information is incorrect. I tried to get it as accurate as possible, but I may have made a few mistakes here and there. See you at the end of the chapter!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Brenda or Percy. everyone else is an OC.**

...

 _Six years ago, in St. Petersburg, Florida…_

"Bye mom! I'll be back later!" I called, pausing in the doorway and waiting for a response.

"Okay sweetie! Call me when you get there, and if you're going to stay for dinner," my mother's voice floated out from the kitchen.

"I will," I promised her, stepping outside and shutting the door behind me. I walked quickly down the sidewalk to Erin's house, my bag swinging from my shoulder and bouncing against my hip.

This was a weekly occurrence for me. On Saturday, I would go to one of my friend's houses for three weeks, and then we would go to mine. Today was Erin's weekend. Erin lived within walking distance of me, while Alyssa and Lucy lived across town in different directions. I took the bus to get there.

I arrived to Erin's house and after dropping a quick text to my mom, climbed up her steps and knocked on the door.

It opened after a few seconds, and Erin's mother smiled at me warmly.

"Hi Brenda. Come on in- Erin is in the kitchen. You know where it is."

"Thanks Mrs. Carter." I walked inside, smiling at her gratefully before making my way to the kitchen. I could hear laughter, and I smiled to myself as I came to the door. The three of looked up at me and beamed.

"Brenda!" Alyssa said. "Join us- we were just talking about how Jasper _totally_ has a crush on Lucy."

"He does _not_!" Lucy said, turning pink. I smiled as I sat down. I personally wasn't interested in boys and how cute they were. I was too busy with my education. And besides- I knew most of the boys in school, and they weren't really my type. But I had no problem discussing crushes with my friends.

"Why wouldn't he?" I asked. "You're awesome! He would be lucky to score with you!"

"You really think he might like me?" Lucy asked hopefully.

"Obviously," Erin said. She started to say something else, but perked up, her eyes brightening. "It's on!" she squealed, jumping to her feet.

We all exchanged glances before blinking at her.

"Uh… what is?" Lucy ventured.

"Creatures, With Percy Patterson!"

"Creatures? You mean like animals?" Alyssa asked. "Why do you want to watch that show?"

I was wondering the same thing. None of us were really animal people, especially Erin. I had a cat, and whenever the girls came over, Alyssa and Lucy would fuss over her and cuddle with her. Erin would smile tensely and awkwardly pat her on the head before moving off to my room. Out of all of us, she liked animals the _least_. This was strange. There had to be some other reason.

"Because the host is totally adorable!"

 _There it is_ , I thought to myself, smiling inwardly.

"His name is Percy Patterson. He gets so excited when he talks about those 'creatures'," she said, with air quotes around creatures. "And it is _so cute_! I saw him while my little brother was watching it, and I just join him for every episode. He's so excited to spend time with me that he doesn't question it. Not that I don't love spending time with him too." she grinned at us. "The host is just a completely unrelated bonus."

"Let's go see then!" Alyssa said, sounding excited. "I want to see if he's as cute as you say he is." she rushed for the living room, Lucy and Erin on her heels. I followed more slowly behind. They could gush over this "cute tv host" all they wanted. I'd just get on my cell and scroll through some of my favorite sites.

" _Here we see a pair of lionesses hunting an antelope,"_ a voice coming from the tv said. Alyssa launched herself over the couch and plopped into the seat. Erin sat on the other side of her, next to her brother, and Lucy sat down on the floor. I leaned against the back, reaching into my bag for my cell phone. While I waited for it to load, I glanced at the tv.

Percy was still talking about the female lions hunting. What had he called them? Lionesses? I didn't know there was a different word for female lions than male lions…

" _Watch them as the stalk the gazelle_ ," Percy said, his voice soft and low. " _They creep along the ground until they are both within thirty feet, and then… they charge!_ " I locked my eyes on them as they ran. They looked so elegant, the way they were running. It was _beautiful_.

" _Unfortunately, they miss the antelope this time_ ," Percy's voice continued. " _Lionesses are only successful roughly thirty percent of the time_."

"When do we get to see him?" Lucy asked. "Is the whole show just his voice and a bunch of animals?"

"He'll show up eventually," Erin said, her voice confident. Just as she said this, a boy with orange-red hair appeared on the screen.

"Behind me, you can see a few lion cubs playing with each other. There at a farther distance then what the cameras make it look. We don't want to upset the other lions by getting to close, after all," he said. "We always need to respect the personal space of creatures." the camera cut to the lion cubs as they rolled around on the ground.

"Isn't he cute?!" Erin squealed.

"Sure is," I said distractedly, watching the cubs play. I heard gasps around me, and looked at my friends in confusion. "What?"

"You just said you think he's cute," Erin said, staring at me as a smile spread across her face.

"I thought you weren't into boys yet?" Lucy asked me. "You said-"

"Don't question her!" Erin said. "You'll ruin it! Brenda, this is fantastic!"

"Oh, uh…" I felt my cheeks grow warm. How would I explain to them I had been referring to the cubs, not Percy?

"Look, she's blushing!" Alyssa squealed. "She really does think he's cute!"

"I guess so," I said vaguely. I didn't want to disappoint them, after all. "But don't get any ideas. He's one guy, and there is no way I'll meet him. Everyone is allowed to have one unrealistic star crush, right?"

"True," Erin admitted. "All right, we'll leave you alone about it. It's still a momentous occasion, though! I am _so_ marking this on my calendar." I rolled my eyes, laughing.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's just finish the show, all right?"

"Okay," Erin agreed. We continued watching the show, and the subject was dropped. When it was over, we went to Erin's room to chat. Homework, classes, boys; we ranged through several different topics.

At about six Alyssa and Lucy had to leave to catch the bus, and I decided to leave too. I said goodbye to Erin and headed for home. I caught myself returning to the moment in the living room, watching the lionesses run. I couldn't get the show out of my head.

It had taught me things about lions that I never even knew, and they were actually pretty cool. I was wondering… what other animals did they cover on that show?

I got my phone out and looked up _Patterson Animals_ , and after a few links for veterinarians…

"Bingo," I whispered, clicking on a link that said "list of Creatures! With Percy Patterson episodes". There were episodes on bears, bobcats, and coyotes, but also animals I hadn't ever heard of, like kangaroo rats and javelina.

Then there were episodes that had animals like kangaroos or lemurs. Kangaroos only lived in Australia, I knew that. But what about lemurs? Did they live in Australia too?

I glanced up, realizing I had almost passed my house. I walked up our sidewalk in inside.

"I'm home, mom!" I called before heading for our living room. My older sister was seated on the couch, watching Big Bang Theory. "Hey Charlie," I said as a joined her. "Can I borrow the tv for a sec? I just want to look something up."

"Okay," she agreed as the show switched to a commercial. "But make it quick. I don't want to miss anything."

"This won't take long," I promised. I went to the menu and clicked search, then typed in CREATU. The show popped up, just under creature comforts. I clicked it and set all the episodes to record. I wanted to watch everything.

"Why are you recording that show?" Charlie asked me as hit the exit button and turned it back to the tv. "I didn't think you cared much for animals."

"I don't. Or, I didn't," I admitted. "I saw the show over at Erin's house, and it's really educational. I learned some much about lions that I never knew before. Did you know that usually the lionesses are the ones hunting, and they hunt in pairs or groups?"

Charlie looked interested. "I didn't. That's actually pretty cool. Maybe I'll join you when you watch."

"That would be great," I said, smiling at her. "Erin watches it with her brother, but _she_ mainly watches it for the 'cute tv host,'" I said with an eye roll.

"Ooh, that's pretty bad," Charlie said, cringing. "Well, I swear I'm going to watch so I can spend time with you and learn about animals, not for some cute guy halfway across the world." she smiled at me, and I laughed.

"Thanks," I said gratefully. "I think the first episode records later tonight. We can watch together then."

From that moment on, Charlie and I watched every episode we could together. we followed Percy on instagram, so we'd get updates about the show or just pictures of animals.

My friends were happy to discover I had a bunch of the episodes on our DVR, and wanted to watch at least one whenever they came over. I made Charlie promise not to tell them why I wanted to watch. It really wasn't a big deal and they probably wouldn't mind, but I didn't want to take the chance.

While they gushed about how cute Percy was, Charlie and I paid attention and learned about whatever the center of the episode was. I had learned more about animals in the year than I had in years past.

My seventeenth birthday came, and while my parents and friends got me clothes and jewelry, Charlie took me aside privately to give me an endangered animals book and a book titled rainforest with pictures a man named Thomas had taken. They were my favorites.

One morning a few weeks after, while I was getting ready for school, I found a gecko sitting on my backpack. I crouched next to them carefully, trying not to disturb them. It looked like a male, with its bright color and how big it was. It was still pretty young, since they were fourteen inches as adults and this one was only six.

I flashed back to last week when we'd seen the episode about geckos. They had the ability to climb up walls. When I first heard of a gecko and what they did, I'd assumed they had sticky feet and that was why they could climb. But it turned out they had microscopic hairs called setae on their toe pads, and they had an electric charge that attracted to the electric charge in whatever surface they were touching. This was what allowed them to climb walls.

The episode had also said that a tokay- that's what this species of gecko was- was one of the more aggressive species of gecko. They tended to bite, and though they weren't poisonous, I could get an infection if it bit me. I carefully moved passed it and grabbed a pair of gloves from the closet. I hardly used them, but my mom wanted us each to have some in case the temperature got abnormally low.

I put them on and returned to the gecko. I sat next to him again. "I'm sorry little guy," I whispered apologetically. "But you can't stay here. My mom would freak, or my cat might go after you. And I'd hate for someone step on you by accident, if you managed to avoid them." I very, very carefully reached out and grabbed him, holding him gently but firmly in the center of my hands. He thrashed and struggled immediately- I wouldn't be able to hold him long. I rushed out of my room.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Charlie asked me as I swerved around her.

"Can't talk!" I called over my shoulder. "Gecko emergency!"

"Gecko?" Charlie's footsteps followed behind me as i ran for the door. I looked down at the tokay, who was still angrily struggling in my hands.

"Almost there, little guy," I whispered. Charlie rushed ahead and got the door for me, and i sprinted outside and crouched on the sidewalk. I opened my hands, and the tokay jumped off and landed a couple feet away.

Charlie came to sit by me, looking at the gecko in wonder.

"Wow," she said quietly. "I've never seen one _this_ close before."

"Me neither," I said quietly. I shook my head and stood up. "We have to get to school," I said to her, heading back inside. I went to my room and opened my backpack, checking to make sure everything was there. Textbooks, notebooks, _Rainforest_ , folders, binder… yes, that was everything. I zipped it and put it on, grabbing my pencil from the floor and going out to the kitchen to wait for Charlie before we walked to school. She came out a few minutes later.

"Mom! Brenda and I are going to school now!" she called out.

"Okay! See you after it's over!" she called back. We walked outside.

"So," Charlie said casually. I glanced over at her to find her watching me intently. "When are you going to tell your friends how much you love animals?"

"I'm not," I told her. "They don't need to know."

"But they still think you're watching _Creatures!_ Because of the host, don't they?"

"Yeah, and I'm going to let them believe that." I walked faster. "Hurry up, I don't want to be late." she caught up with me, but didn't bring up the subject again. I bit my lip. "Sorry," I said to her. "It's just… they're my best friends. I don't think they could ever love animals as much as we do, and I don't want to make them feel like they have to."

"I get it," Charlie said. "I really do. How about this? You don't have to tell them outright that you love animals, but you should at least stop hiding it. If they're your real friends, they will understand."

"All right," I agreed as I stopped walking. "My rainforest book is in my backpack. Can you get it for me? I'll carry it around in my arms instead."

"Sure!" Charlie said, sounding happy. She got it out for me and handed it over. I hugged it to my chest as she zipped my backpack.

"Come on," I said when she was done. "We have to hurry before we're late." we rushed off to school, walking in the door roughly three minutes before the bell. Charlie threw her arm around my shoulders and squeezed.

"See you after school, sis," she said before rushing off to her first class. She liked to arrive early. I waved before going to the table where I usually met my friends before we all went our different ways.

"Hey guys," I said as I joined them.

"Brenda! Are you prepared for the end of the term?" Erin asked me.

"Yeah," I said. "I'm passing all my classes, so today should be pretty easy for me."

"Do we have any classes together?" Lucy asked, pulling her schedule out. "I think I have algebra with Erin…" we all pulled are schedules out and quickly compared them. I had chemistry with Alyssa and composition with Erin, and Lucy and I had the same lunch.

The bell rang and I grabbed my backpack. Holding my book and schedule in my arms, I rushed off to my first class. I sat through algebra and geography- they both went fast, because we spent most of the period taking notes or working on homework. It wasn't finished, but what I couldn't do in class I could finish at lunch or during free time in other classes.

I walked in the door to teen leadership and sat at my desk, immediately opening my book to where I'd left off. I smiled down at the green whip snake on the page, then read what Thomas had to say about it. The room slowly grew louder as other students entered, but I paid no attention to them. I heard the bell ring and marked my page, closing the book and looking up at Mrs. Anderson. She beamed at us.

"Good morning, class."

"Good morning," I said, along with a few others.

"Today we're going to write a letter to someone we admire. You'll mail it yourself, unless the person is unreachable or no longer with us. You can work on it at home if you want, if you have work you need to do for other classes. But tell me who you plan on writing, so I can get an address for you."

The moment she stopped talking, the class erupted in soft whispers and murmurs. I pulled a piece of paper from my notebook and carefully tore the frilly edges from it. When they were completely off, I twirled my pencil in my fingers as I thought.

The minute I heard our assignment, I knew I wanted to write to Percy. Now it was just a matter of how to start.

 _Dear Percy_ , I wrote. I stared at it for a few moments, then erased his name. _Too formal_ , I thought. He wasn't my friend- I couldn't just call him Percy like I'd known him for years. Instead, I wrote _Mr. Patterson_. That was better. Next I wrote _hi, I'm Brenda_. Then I erased that too. Instead I tried _my name is Brenda_.

Thinking for a second, I wrote _my teacher wants us to write to somebody we admire. And for me, that's you._ _I've watched your show for about a year now. I love it- it's taught me so much about animals that I never knew before. You inspired me to love the earth and all the creatures in it. You've changed my life._ I stared down at it, frowning. This wasn't good enough. I started to erase, careful to make sure I didn't rip it.

When the whole paragraph was gone, I erased the little bits that I had missed. They were still slightly visible, but I supposed I could just use this as a rough copy and then write the final draft on a different piece. I started the letter over several times- nothing I wrote seemed like it would work.

Finally, I decided to write down key points I wanted to mention.

 _-the assignment- it's important to be honest_

 _-how he inspired me_

 _-when i started watching his show_

 _-how much i love animals because of him_

 _-how much it taught me_

I looked at my list, then took another page from my notebook and removed the frilly bit. Breathing in deeply, I began to write.

When I was done, I folded it and stuck it in an envelope on the corner of my desk that Mrs. Anderson must have put there without me noticing. I sealed it, then flipped it over and printed Percy's name neatly in the middle. I wrote my own information up in the left corner.

 _Brenda Williams_

 _2499 3rd Ave N_

 _St. Petersburg, FL 33713_

I brought it up to Mrs. Anderson's desk and told her where it was meant to go, then returned to my seat. No going back now…

 _Six days later, in Coyote, New Mexico…_

"Percy!" Mom's voice called. "I've got something for you!" I turned away from my desk to see her leaning against my frame, holding something long and white in her hands. I rolled my eyes.

"Another fan letter? Seriously?"

"Oh come on Percy," she coaxed. "Your fans love you! You could at least _read_ them."

"I told you before mom; I don't mind reading the ones that _actually_ like the show."

"How do you know she doesn't? Come on, give her a chance." and by that, she meant she wanted me to think about getting into a relationship with her. Also known as, finally get a girlfriend. She'd been begging me to start looking for a while now. Every time a new letter from a female came, she tried to get me to contact the girl and ask to meet her.

I shook my head. "I'm busy- the editor is sick, so I have to edit this week's episode myself. 'She', you said? I don't have time to read another fangirl's letter."

"Please? It will just take five minutes. And you need a break- you've been in your room all day. It's already two and you haven't eaten. I have a sandwich for you in the kitchen!"

" _Alright!_ " I snapped, shoving my chair back from the desk and getting to my feet. "I'll read it, if it gets you to let me edit in peace. It's a lot harder than it looks."

"Deal," my mom agreed, beaming at me as she held out the letter. I took it from her and put my finger under the flap, tearing it open. I pulled out a neatly folded paper and unfolded it, holding the envelope behind it.

 _Dear Mr. Patterson_ , it started. I was slightly surprised- most of the fangirl letters started with "Hey Percy!" and then had something along the lines of "your so cute when you talk about those creatures!" "Its awesome how much you love animals!" or the worst one of all: "My brother and sister just want to say how much they love your show. P.S: You are super cute! Here's my number- hit me up!"

I quickly pushed down my surprise. Just because this one started out slightly more respectful didn't mean she wouldn't be just like the others. I continued to read.

 _Our teacher gave us an assignment to write a letter to somebody we admire. I instantly thought of you- ever since I saw your show at a friends house about a year ago, the one about lions, I've watched you ever since. I never really cared for animals before I saw your show, but you inspired me. I've learned so much about animals since then. Things i never even knew. Animals I used to be afraid of, like spiders, don't scare me anymore. All thanks to you. So, I want to say thank you. Thank you for being such a big role model. You changed my life._

 _-Brenda_

"She seems nice," My mom's voice spoke in my ear. I jumped, stepping away from her with a hand on my chest.

"Wha- when did you get here?!"

"A few moments ago," she said casually. "That Brenda girl seems nice."

"She does, doesn't she?" I said, looking down at the letter. "I might just have to write her back."

"Really?" my mom said, sounding excited. "You think you might want to settle down with her?"

"No, mom, not to ask her to be my girlfriend. I was thinking more along the lines of… a partner."

To Be Continued….

…

 **just to clarify, Brenda's address is not a real one (as far as I know). I made it up for this story.**


	2. Chapter 2

**this chapter is a lot shorter then the first. I really don't have a plan for when to end these, things just sort of... happen, you know? anyway, enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Percy or Brenda.**

 **...**

"Ugh, this chemistry homework is the worst!" Erin groaned, placing her head in her arms.

"It's not so bad," I told her. She and Lucy had the class too, but at a different time then me an Alyssa. The teacher had given us a new assignment at the end of class on Friday, so we decided to work on it together on Saturday. We figured as long as we didn't share answers, it would be okay.

"Brenda's right," Lucy said. "I'm almost done with mine."

"I am too," Erin admitted. "But that doesn't make it less horrible."

We all laughed, and I smiled inwardly. These moments with my friends helped to keep my mind off of the letter I'd sent to Percy. It'd been nearly two weeks, and I hadn't gotten a return letter. I kept telling myself it was all right- I hadn't _really_ been expecting a response. He was a huge star, after all. Why would he respond to a random fan?

We were still laughing when Charlie came charging into my room.

"Brenda!" she said, panting with her hands on her knees. She blinked up at us. "What's so funny?" when Alyssa opened her mouth to explain, Charlie waved her hand in the air. "No, nevermind. I don't need to know. Brenda! You have to check this out!" she waved something at me, and I rolled my eyes, still giggling.

"Show me what?" I asked.

She launched herself onto the bed next to me, putting her arm around me and putting the thing in front of us. It was a letter.

 _Brenda Wilson_ , it said in the middle. I glanced up to the top left corner, and my heart skipped a beat. I grabbed the letter in both hands.

" _Oh my gosh!_ " I yelled, bouncing up and down. Charlie laughed and hugged me. Erin looked over her shoulder and gasped.

"Percy Patterson?!" she cried. "Brenda got a letter from Percy Patterson!"

"What?!" Lucy and Alyssa yelled.

"Brenda, why are you getting a letter from Percy? How does he know you?" Lucy asked me.

I breathed in deeply, trying to calm myself, then let it out. "A few weeks ago, in leadership, we had to write to somebody we admired. I chose Percy. You see…" I exchanged a glance with Charlie, and she nodded encouragingly. "Ever since I saw his show at Erin's house, I've been watching it and learning _so much_ about animals. I love them now- I have for the past year."

"You did?" Alyssa asked. "I didn't know that."

"I didn't exactly make it clear," I admitted. "I was a little worried about how you'd react. I know you thought I said he was cute, but I was actually referring to the lion cubs. I didn't know how to explain that without coming off as a liar."

"Oh, Brenda," Lucy said, sounding sympathetic. "You could have told us- we'd understand."

"Yeah," Alyssa agreed. "We're your friends!"

I smiled at them gratefully. "Thanks, guys."

"You're welcome," Erin cut in. "Not to ruin the moment, but open the letter!" she bounced on my bed, a big smile on her face. "I want to know what he said!"

I laughed. "Okay, okay! I'm opening it!" I tore the flap and pulled out a paper. I unfolded it, my hands shaking slightly. I glanced around at my friends. "Do you guys mind if I read it myself? I'll tell you what it says."

"Oh, yeah, of course." Erin hopped off the bed and sat with Lucy on the couch in the corner. Now it was just me and Charlie. I read the letter silently first.

 _Hello Brenda,_ it started. _First, I want to say thank you for your kind letter. I appreciate letters like yours- ones from people who love animals as much as I do. On that note… If you're interested, I could use some help on the show. Would you like to be my partner? You mentioned a teacher, so I'm assuming you're still in highschool. You should absolutely finish your education first, but if you do want to help out, I could send you clips that we've recorded to check out and give me your opinion on what should be put in the show and what shouldn't. I can also send you the script. I write it myself, but it would be nice to have someone to double check and possibly add improvements. This is only if you're interested, of course. If not, I understand. I'm including my email address at the bottom- it's much faster then letter writing, especially if we are going to become partners. It's been awhile since I got a letter from someone like you. Thank you again for writing me._

 _-Percy Patterson_

 _P.S.- call me Percy._

"Well?" Erin asked eagerly, leaning forward. "What did he say?"

"He wants me to be his partner," I said, a slow smile spreading across my face. "He wants _me_ to be his _partner_!"

"That's fantastic!" Lucy said, smiling at me. "We're so happy for you!"

"You're going to say yes, right?" Alyssa asked me.

"Oh, Brenda, you have to accept! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!" Erin said, bouncing up and down on the couch.

I laughed. "I'm going to accept," I told them. "I'll have to work out the details with him later to see what I'm all going to do."

"Later? Why not now?" Lucy asked. I raised my eyebrows.

"Uh, the chemistry homework?"

"Let's get cracking then! You have a tv show host to write!" Erin grabbed the various papers from around the room and distributed them to their respective owners.

Charlie left, and we got busy immediately. For about twenty minutes, all that could be heard was the scratching of our pencils on the paper and the occasional huff as we came across difficult problems. As I was just finishing up, an alarm sounded and I jumped.

"Sorry," Alyssa apologized. "I set an alarm for five thirty five so Lucy and I could catch the bus." she began packing up her stuff, and Lucy joined her.

"Don't you guys usually leave at six?" Erin asked.

"Yeah, but we got tired of running to catch the bus before it left, so we set it for earlier so we could take our time," Lucy explained.

"Ah, I see," I said nodding.

"See you tomorrow, guys," Alyssa said, shouldering her bag. She and Lucy walked out the door, and Erin set her pencil down.

"I guess I should go too," she said. "But I want to hear everything that happens!"

"I'll text you all tomorrow," I promised her. "See you later!"

"Bye!" she waved to me before walking out the door. When she was gone, I looked down at my homework and finished up the last problem. I put the sheet in my backpack, then took my laptop from my desk. I typed in the password and opened my email, creating a new draft. I typed in Percy's email, then leaned back and debated what to write.

Finally, after a few minutes, I typed hello in the subject line and then clicked in the message part. I hesitated for a second, then typed out:

 _Hi, Percy. I would_ love _to be your partner. What do you need me to do?_

 _Perfect_ , I thought. Short and simple. Before I could change my mind, I hit send and quickly closed the laptop. Out of sight, out of mind. If I kept it open, I would stare at the email and slowly start to stress about it. I needed a distraction.

"Brenda! Dinner's ready!" mom called. I smiled. Perfect timing.

"Coming!" I said, placing the laptop on my desk. I turned my light off and went out to the table, sitting next to Charlie. I secretly gave her a thumbs up. Now all I had to do was wait for a response.

…

"Percy," a voice said softly. I moaned, burying my head deeper in my arms.

"G'away," I muttered to the voice.

"Percy, honey, you need to look at your computer."

"Computer," I mumbled. "Yesterday. The show. Editing." my eyes shot wide open, and I jerked upright. "Oh no, no! I was editing! Did I mess something up?!"

"Hey, calm down," My mom said, touching my shoulders gently. "You didn't mess it up. You finished it last night, and it looks like you were going to send and email to George to tell him you were done before you fell asleep on the keyboard."

I peered at the screen, and saw an email open that said

 _Hey geirge, hiw yiu doing? I fubally finisged the edutibg- iys lot hrder theb ut lokdc.. Ccccc cccccccccccdryc\cccccccccccccccc,_ etcetera. It looked like I'd fallen asleep on the c key. In the corner, it said 6:15 (9 hours ago). I looked at the clock- it was almost four. I'd been asleep for about nine hours, give or take a few.

I drove my hands through my hair, groaning. "I actually sent that to him? I sound crazy!"

"Looks like it," My mom said sympathetically. "You must have woken up enough to hit send, then fallen back asleep. You were just tired, I'm sure George understands."

I sighed, putting my face in my hands. "I had no idea how long editing took," I mumbled from behind them. "I just barely got it done for tomorrow." I glanced up at her. "Is that what you wanted to show me?"

"No. It was on your Inbox, but I clicked on this one to see what George said to you. He advised you get some sleep, by the way."

I rolled my eyes, then looked at her in confusion. "Then what did _you_ want me to see?"

"Brenda has emailed you!" she said, beaming.

"She did?" I clicked on my Inbox, and sure enough, there was an email from Brenda at the top. It had come in at 3:45. I clicked it, slowly starting to smile. She'd said yes. She'd actually said _yes_. I cheered, punching my fist in the air. "Yeah!"

My mom laughed as I clicked the reply button.

 _Hi Brenda,_ I typed out. _I'm going to get started on a script soon. I'll share the document with you, so you can offer ideas too. We're doing the next show on mountain lions. When we've recorded all the clips, I'll put them in the document too so we can look them over and decide which ones to use. I'll put a few facts in it so we have something to work with._

I hit send, then went into the drive to open up a new document. I titled it _script_ , then typed mountain lions at the top. I underlined it and hit the bullet point option up in the corner. I started to type out my first fact-

Mountain lions live their lives mostly on their own, unlike lions, who live in prides.

When hunting, mountain lions

"Oh no," My mom interrupted. She grabbed my forearm and pulled me to my feet, away from the desk. She shut my computer with her hand, then pulled me out of the room.

"Mom," I protested, my feet sliding against the carpet as I tried to pull away. "I still have to share it with Brenda so we can work together!"

"It can wait," she said dismissively. "You haven't eaten a thing since yesterday. When you have some ramen or a sandwich or something, then you can send the document to Brenda."

"Fine, fine," I grumbled. I looked longingly back at my room. I wanted to get started right away, but there was no way I would be getting out of this. I'd just have to wait a bit longer…

...

 **if anyone is confused with the time stamps and stuff, Percy is about two hours behind Brenda.**


	3. Chapter 3

**this took longer then expected to write- sorry about that. there is no Percy part in this chapter, just Brenda. the ending is a little rushed- the getting into bed process doesn't really require details :P**

 **...**

"Mountain Lions," I said, smiling. When I'd finished dinner, I'd gone back to my room and began working on homework- math, chemistry, and studying for a spanish test i had- I checked my email. That was when I found Percy's return to my own. I clicked on the document he'd sent me, which he'd titled script. It already had two facts inside, and a little pink line was hovering over a third bullet point. Percy was here, too.

I went to it and hit enter a couple of times then typed out

 _Hi Percy! I'll try to help you, but I'm afraid I don't know much about mountain lions._

 _That's alright,_ he typed. _I'll put in the facts, and you can work on how they should be worded and what footage we should try to get for them. When we get a few recordings, you'll be able to write down some facts on your own. I can't even begin to thank you for your help. Doing it myself makes it a bit rushed, and my mom is always pressing me about working too hard and forgetting "necessities" like food and sleep._

I laughed out loud. _Yeah, that's a bit what it's like during finals week. Late nights and surviving on granola bars and fruit. Though I'm sure it's worse for you- i only have a week of it. But like you said, now you have me to help out!_

 _Ha, yeah. Hopefully, it'll be a little easier now. Lets get some facts down, shall we?_

 _We shall._

I scrolled up to look at the facts he'd written, then paused for a second and scrolled back down, confirming my terrible suspicions. I'd said _we shall_ , like I was in a fairy tale or something. I sounded ridiculous! But then again, he'd said it too. Chances were he didn't find anything off about it.

I tried to forget it as I scrolled up and and read his facts.

"Mountain Lions live mainly on their own," i whispered to myself. "Unlike lions, who live in prides." I copied the fact and scrolled to the bottom, where I pasted it. I added _footage of a mountain lion on it's own, possibly lounging on a rock_ after it. Then I copied all of the facts he had, putting them under the first. Doing it one by one would take too much time. I added my own notes after them. When I was done, it looked like this:

Mountain lions live their lives mostly on their own, unlike lions, who live in prides. _footage of a mountain lion on it's own, possibly lounging on a rock._

When hunting, mountain lions primarily go after large mammals, like deer. They also hunt mice, squirrels, porcupines, racoons, rabbits, and beavers. They travel long distances to find food. After they've successfully killed their prey, they will bury it and come back for it later. _A mountain lion hunting, or burying something._

Their mating season is usually from December to March. They have litters of two to four kittens. _Mountain lion cubs_

Mountain lion children are called cubs or kittens. _Maybe combine this fact with the one before it?_

Mountain lions are called by several names in different places- pumas, cougars, and sometimes, panthers. Their scientific name is Felis Concolor. _Maybe separate footage of these animals in their habitats?_

Mountain lion kittens are born blind, and must rely on their mothers until they are two to three months old. _A mother caring for her kittens._

I frowned. The footage I'd said they should get would be difficult to find. Would they be able to get those specific clips? I wasn't sure, so i asked percy. I clicked the circle up in the corner, and it whisked me up to where he was typing.

I went to the end of his sentence and hit enter a couple of times.

 _Hey_ , I typed. _Will you be able to get the footage I say will work? Some of it seems like it might be a challenge._

 _Don't worry, we'll get it. We go around till we find what we think is the home of whatever creature we're doing, and either watch them from a respectful distance or set up a camera to record the footage. We also set up cameras around somewhere near their home, where there are signs of them to get the footage we need._

 _That sounds complicated._

 _It is. It's also very tiring, going through all the hours of footage. but it's worth it! Sometimes, if we can't get footage of me with them for risk of disturbing them, we'll use a green screen. It's better for us and the animals._

 _Cool!_ I scrolled back up to the list of facts, and did the same as before. I worked at coming up with the footage for a while, then switched to getting a vague idea of how the facts could be worded. I made sure to leave room for alteration. He didn't have to say _exactly_ what I typed. I wanted it to sound as natural as it did on tv.

"Brenda," my mom called from outside my door. "You need to go to bed. It's late!" I looked at the clock and saw she was right- it was nearly eleven o'clock. This wouldn't be a problem if tomorrow was saturday, but it wasn't. I looked back at the document and began to type.

 _Hey_ , m _y mom just came in and told me to go to bed. I'll work on the script more tomorrow, okay?_

 _That's fine! I was probably going to do the same anyway. Good night! Talk to you tomorrow! _

_Good night!_

I closed the laptop and set it on my desk, leaving it to charge, then changed into pajamas. I flipped the light switch to off and climbed under the covers. Facts about mountain lions flew through my head until I drifted into sleep.


End file.
